Book-binding machines



R. LIQUVILLE BOOK-BINDING MACHINES June 24; 1969 Sheet v of4 Filed Jan.3, 1968 Q01. Nb lnvenlor @JWW R. LIOUVILLE BOOK-BINDING MACHINES June24, 1969 Sheet Filed Jan. 3. 1968 mm mm Wm Q Q o I nvenlof B omeg Julie24, L|Q|JV|LLE 3,451,081

BOOK-BINDING MACHINES Filed Jan. 5, 1968 I Sheet 3 01 4 Inventor A bfiwbg Sheet.

Filed Jan. 3. 1968 Q0714 Laluw Baird/W United States Patent 3,451,081BOOK-BINDING MACHINES Roger Liouville, Colombes, France, assignor toJames Burn & Co., Limited, London, England, a British company Filed Jan.3, 1968, Ser. No. 695,484 Int. Cl. B42c 19/00 US. Cl. 11-1 12 ClaimsABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A machine for binding packets of perforatedsheets or books with wire binding elements of the kind having a seriesof curved prongs on which the sheets are impaled before the prongs areclosed to ring shape by bringing their points into the vicinity of theirroots in which the prongs are brought from the open to the closedposition by a pair of jaws which are segments of cylinders ofapproximately the diameter of the prongs in the closed positionsubtending an angle of more than 90 and which effect the closing bybeing rotated in opposition directions away from the fore-edge of thebook to be bound about axes disposed on the fore-edge side of the axesof the said cylinders.

This invention relates to machines for binding packets of perforatedsheets, referred to herein generally as books, with wire bindingelements having a series of curved prongs on which the sheets areimpaled before the prongs are closed to ring shape by bringing theirpoints into the vicinity of their roots.

The various features of the machine forming the subject of theapplication are designed to ensure simplicity of construction andoperation of the machine and high production notwithstanding that thebinding elements as supplied to the machine may have certainimperfections.

According to the invention, the closing operation is effected by a pairof jaws which are segments of cylinders of approximately the diameter ofthe prongs in their closed position subtending an angle of more than 90and which effect the closing of the prongs by being rotated in oppositedirections away from the fore-edge of the book to be bound about axesdisposed on the fore-edge side of the axes of said cylinders.

Best results are obtained .if the prongs, in the open position have, inend elevation, the shape of a FIGURE 3, the two curved portions of the.3 being approximately semicircles.

When the binding elements are ready for use, they are in the form of aslotted tube, the width of the slot determining the thickness of thebook which can be bound, that thickness being, of course, also limitedby the diameter of the rings finally formed by the prongs. It isdesirable therefore that the said slot be over-wide rather thanover-narrow and in the machine in accordance with the invention, theclosing jaws are mounted so that their axes of rotation are movedtowards each other at the beginning of the closing operation and awayfrom each other at the end, by a movement of translation.

In order to'ensure that the slots are somewhat overwide, the bindingelements are preferably received one by one on their backs on a plate onwhich they are yieldingly held while a wedge shaped member is broughtinto their slots. This operation can also serve to eliminateimperfections in the binding elements, particularly twists which impairthe rectilinearity of the slots. Best results are obtained when theyielding means by which they are held on the plate are magnetic.

An example of a machine in accordance with the in- 3,451,081 PatentedJune 24, 1969 vention is shown somewhat diagrammatically in theaccompanying drawings in which:

'FIGURE 1 shows a binding element in an early stage .in its manufacture;

FIGURE 2 shows the binding element ready for use in binding a book;

FIGURE 3 is an end elevation of the machine;

FIGURES 4, 5 and 6 are diagrams illustrating the binding operation;

FIGURE 7 is a cross section through part of the machine;

FIGURES 8 and 9 are respectively an enlarged elevation and an enlargedplan of a part of FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 1 shows a length of wire bent to form a band having a series ofprongs 10 having closed ends or points 12 and open ends or roots 14. Toenable such a band to be used for binding a packet of perforated sheetsor book, the prongs are brought to the shape shown in FIGURE 2 in which,in end view, they have two approximately semicircular portions givingthem the general shape of a figure 3. The binding operation comprisesimpaling the sheets of the book on the prongs and bringing the points 12of the prongs into the vicinity of the roots 14. This operation isassisted by the kink in the prongs but that kink is not essential, i.e.the prongs may be C-shaped.

The machine shown in FIGURE 3 provides a binding station A to whichbooks to be bound are fed from a station B and binding elements are fedfrom a station C.

At the binding station there is a pair of closing jaws 20 which areshown separately in FIGURES 4 and 5, wherein is seen a book 22 heldbetween a pair of clamps 24 with its perforations 26 positioned for thepassage through them of the points 12 of the prongs 10 of a bindingelement.

The closing jaws 20 have working surfaces 28 which are portions ofcylinders of about the same curvature as the two portions of the bindingelement 10, the axes of the cylinders lying, in the open position shownin FIG- URE 4, in the plane X-X. The jaws are mounted for rotation aboutaxes 29, 29' lying in the plane Y-Y which are parallel to the axes ofthe said cylinders and along which lie the points 12 and the roots 14 ofthe binder prongs.

To effect a binding operation, the jaws are rotated about the axes 29,29' as indicated by the arrows in FIGURE 4. The book 22 lies with thelengths of wire 30 (FIGURE 2) between the root ends of the prongsresting on it so that the squeezing operation of the jaws does notresult in any movement of the roots 14. It will be seen that the workingfaces of the closing jaws subtend an angle greater than that theirmovement is away from the fore-edge of the book and that the axes ofrotation of the jaws are on the fore-edge side of the axes of the saidcylinders. Consequently the squeezing operation is accompanied by athrust to the left towards the fore edge which causes the prongs tofollow a clockwise trajectory into the position shown in FIGURE 5. Inthat position, the greater part of the length of each prong is embracedby the jaws so that a substantially perfect ring is formed. It isemphasized that there is no movement of the root ends of the prongs sothat those ends which cannot pass into the perforations in the sheetsare not pressed down on to the package being bound.

It is, of course, desirable that the closed ring he of no greaterdiameter than is made necessary by the thickness of the book or,conversely, that the book be as thick as possible having regard to thesize of the ring. The book thickness is governed by the width of theslot formed by the points and the roots of the prongs and, in order thatthere shall be no difficulty in inserting the book into the slot in theposition shown in FIGURE 4 or removing the bound book from the positionshown in FIGURE 5, it is advisable that the said slot be made wider thanis required by the closing operation which has just been described. Amethod of ensuring the existence of such a Wide slot will be describedfurther on. For the time being, it is to be noted that if the slot iswider than is shown in FIGURES 4 and 5, the closing jaws must, in theidle position (FIGURE 4), be further apart than has been shownin fact,in positions such as those shown in broken lines at 20 in FIGURE 4. Tomake that possible without upsetting the closing operation, the jaws maybe mounted so that at the start of their pivotal or rotary movement theyare caused to follow stationary cams 31 such as those shown in FIGURE 6.

As will be seen, the cams have steeply sloped surfaces 32 which arefollowed by the jaws 20 and which cause the jaws to be moved into thepositions shown in FIG- URE 4 by a movement almost of translation. Thecentral part 34 of the cams is fiat so that it does not affect the jawsduring the closing of the ring. Finally, each cam has a further slopingsurface 36 which ensures that at the end of the closing operation, thejaws are moved clear of the ring.

As will be seen in FIGURE 3, the jaws 20 are connected by connectingrods 38 and 40 to the arms of a lever 42 arranged to be rocked by apneumatic jack 44. As will be seen from FIGURE 7, each jaw 20 has ashaft 46 mounted in a bearing 48 which is itself mounted to slide in .aslot 50 in a plate 52 rising from the baseplate 54 of the machine.Springs 56 urge the bearings of the upper and lower closing jaws 20respectively upwards and downwards into contact with the earns 31.

Thus, by operation of the jack 44, the closing jaws 20 are caused tocarry out the movements described in connection with FIGURES 4, and 6.

The books to be bound are fed to the binding station A from the left ofFIGURE 3. A transporter 58 is shown in the position in which it offers abook to the binder. The book is not shown but will be held between apair of clamps 24 as described in connection with FIGURES 4 and 5. Thetransporter is arranged to be reciprocated over a table 60 by a drivingmechanism 62. The upper clamp-24 is arranged to be forced down on to thebook resting on the lower clamp by a jack 64 which is automaticallyactuated by means not shown. Means, not shown, are also provided forlimiting the movement of the transporter so that it presents the bookwith the perforations appropriately positioned as described inconnection with FIGURES 4 and 5.

The binding elements are stored in a magazine 66 to the right of thebinding station. As will be seen, they are stacked with their slottedsides upwards and are pushed out of the magazine one by one by a pusher68 shown in greater detail in FIGURES 8 and 9 arranged to bereciprocated by a driving mechanism 70.

The pusher 68 has a base plate 72 from which upstand ribs 74 terminatingat the left hand end in fingers 76 bevelled on the underside and thelateral sides of their tips. When the pusher is moved to the left, theshoulder 78 of the base plate pushes forward the lowermost bindingelement. Its fingers 76 the width of which is slightly smaller than thespaces between the prongs enter those spaces and thus serve to fix theposition of the binding element lengthwise. The abutment of the shoulder78 against the element also helps to position the element correctly.Meanwhile the next element in the magazine is supported by the baseplate 72 at a height at which it cannot escape from the magazine.

The stroke of the pusher is such that the element removed from themagazine is pushed beyond the end of the table 80 on to a plate 82.

The plate 82 incorporates a magnet 84. The pusher 68 is of non-magneticmaterial the table 80 of magnetic material. The element itself being ofmagnetic material, a

4 magnetic circuit will be established which offers a substantialresistance to the thrust of the pusher until the circuit is broken bythe element losing contact with the table 80. This plays an importantpart in assisting the straightening out of a binding element which maybe somewhat twisted.

The binding element having been received by the magnetic plate 82, ajack 86 is brought into action which causes a spreader 88 to be broughtdown into the slot in the binding element as shown in FIGURE 3. Thespreader is of wedged shaped cross-section at its lower end 90 so thatit widens the gap between the points and the roots of the element andmakes then uniform. Also, because the hold of the magnetic plate is notpositive it also serves as the final means for bringing the element onit into the best position.

The spreader having been raised, the magnetic plate which is caused byan arm 92 pivotally mounted at 94 is swung upwards by means not showninto the position shown in broken lines in FIGURE 3 in which the bindingelement is ready to have its prongs passed through the perforations inthe book awaiting it at the binding station.

As soon as the binding element is in the grip of the jaws 20, the arm 92is swung back so that the magnetic plate is ready to receive anotherbinding element. As soon as the binding is completed, the bound book ispulled back from the binding station, released and discharged through achute. The transporter then delivers another book to the bindingstation. It will be appreciated that the cycle of operations is suchthat many of the operations take place simultaneously thus enabling therate of production of the machine to be very high.

The magnetic plate 82 is not an essential part although a veryconvenient one. The magnet could be replaced by spring clips designed toallow the binding element some degree of freedom enabling its locationor attitude to be adjusted. The longitudinal adjustment of the bindingelements which is very important can, if desired, by elfected by ribs onthe table 80, the plate 82 and the closing tools which engage in theprongs or in the spaces between them. Of course, it is not necessary toprovide such ribs for every prong.

I claim:

1. A machine for binding packets of perforated sheets or books with wirebinding elements of the kind having a series of curved prongs on whichthe sheets are impaled before the prongs are closed to ring shape bybringing their points into the vicinity of their roots in which theprongs are brought from the open to the closed position by a pair ofjaws which are segments of cylinders of approximately the diameter ofthe prongs in the closed position subtending an angle of more than 90and which effect the closing by being rotated in opposite directionsaway from the fore-edge of the book to be bound about axes disposed onthe fore-edge side of the axes of the said cylinders.

2. A machine according to claim 1 in which the closing jaws are mountedso that their axes of rotation are moved towards and away from eachother respectively at the beginning and the end of the closing operationby a movement of translation of the jaws.

3. A machine according to claim 1 having a magazine in which the bindingelements are stacked and a pusher which pushes the lowermost element outof the stack and engages it so as to position it lengthwise whilesupporting the remainder of the stack.

4. A machine according to claim 3 having a plate for receiving thebinding elements one by one from the stack provided with yielding meansfor holding the binding elements thereon.

5. A machine according to claim 4 in which the said yielding means aremagnetic.

6. A machine according to claim 5 in which the said plate is carried byan arm having means for being swung 5 so as to bring the element on theplate into the closing station.

7. A machine according to claim 6 in which the binding elements beforebeing offered to the closing jaws are acted upon by a wedge-shaped toolwhich is brought into the slot defined by the points and roots of theprongs to ensure that the width of the slot is adequate to receive thebook and perfect the attitude of the elements.

8. A machine for binding packets of perforated sheets or books with Wirebinding elements of the kind having a series of curved prongs on whichthe sheets are impaled before the prongs are closed to ring shape bybringing their points into the vicinity of their roots, comprising abinding station, a source of supply of binding elements, means fordelivering said elements one by one from said source, means including asubstantially horizontal platform for receiving said elements with theircurved prongs projecting away therefrom, and means for swinging saidplatform through an angle of about 90 to bring the element on it intothe binding station with its prongs directed laterally.

9. A machine according to claim 8 in which said platform is magnetisedto hold the elements on it yieldingly.

10. A machine according to claim 9 comprising also a wedge-shaped tooland means for applying it to an element on the platform to engagebetween the roots and points thereof and thereby correct imperfectionsin the attitude of the element and in the shape of its prongs.

11. A machine for binding packets of perforated sheets or books withWire binding elements of the kind having a series of curved prongs onwhich the sheets are impaled before the prongs are closed to ring shapeby bringing their points into the vicinity of their roots, comprising abinding station, a source of supply of binding elements, and means forconveyng the elements from said source to said station, said meanscomprising a carrier for receiving the elements one by one with theroots and points of its prongs directed away from the carrier anddefining a slot between them longitudinally of the element, and awedgeshaped tool normally disposed above said carrier, and means forbringing said tool into and out of said slot to perfect the attitude ofthe element on the carrier and rectify inaccuracies of construction ofthe element.

12. A machine according to claim 11 comprising magnetic means foryieldingly holding each element on the carrier during its conveyance.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,117,242 5/1938 Eramo.

2,144,581 1/1939 Trussell.

2,185,004 12/1939 Trussell.

2,555,290 5/ 1951 Nomember. 3,334,918 8/1967 Pigna et a1.

FOREIGN PATENTS 987,116 3/ 1965 Great Britian.

LAWRENCE CHARLES, Primary Examiner.

